


Black Lace

by ShirayukiSayaka



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, NSFW, Stripper!Ong, daniel just transferred, just a small bit though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:54:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15702102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShirayukiSayaka/pseuds/ShirayukiSayaka
Summary: Ong Seongwoo was the epitome of perfection. Stunning looks, perfect grades, and was even elected as the Student Council President. But even the most 'perfect' people can have their own imperfections and secrets. As their only breadwinner, Seongwoo sacrificed more than meets the eye for the sake of shouldering the burden of earning money for his family.





	Black Lace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lllogical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lllogical/gifts).



> it was a bit rushed in the end so if it seemed rushed then I'm sorry in advanced

“Seongwoo hyung! Guanlin just handed me the budget report from the different sports teams!” Park Jihoon, their student council Treasurer, announced as he entered the room with a stack of papers in hand.

“Oh, just in time. Place it there by my desk―”

“Seongwoo! The other professors are looking for you to clarify something with the plans regarding the career fair!” Came another voice, it was the intern from the administrative office Yoon Jisung.

“Already? I hope they actually did read through it this time,” He couldn’t help but sigh, the professors weren’t so young anymore after all. Maybe they missed a detail in the plans again.

“Hyung! The Astronomical Society just returned their revised proposal!”  Student Council Secretary Lee Daehwi asked when he saw both the Vice President and Treasurer flanked on both sides of their President. “Should I go through it for you instead?”

“Ah, no. That’s fine. Wouldn’t want that adding to your workload. Did you finish the summary of our meeting yesterday?” Seongwoo offered with that usual gentle smile but Daehwi has always been smarter than he looks. “Even with those glasses of yours, I can see you’re already getting dark circles under your eyes! Don’t worry about it, Hyung. You look more like the one who needs a bit of their work off their shoulders. Consider this done!” The purple-haired sophomore said as he ran off to wherever he needed to be.

“Seriously, that kid…” Seongwoo chuckled to himself, “Daehwi’s right though, are you sure you’re still doing okay? You barely look like you get any rest since you go straight to your part-time job after school,” Minhyun, student council Vice President, said with that caring tone.

Seongwoo can’t help but feel grateful knowing there are people always looking out for him but really, he could handle it on his own (at least that’s what he keeps telling the others).

“No really, I’ve got it all under control so you don’t have to take some of my work too.”

“Technically, I am the vice president so I can do just that.”

“... Right.” Seongwoo sighed in defeat, “I’ll go through the budget reports, you can go to the faculty room to clarify whatever it is they wanted to know,” He finished with a small pout but Minhyun just ruffled his hair. “See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?”

“Minhyun! It took plenty of time to fix that!”

“I’ll see you all later to tell you what they needed to know,” Minhyun brushed him off as he followed Jisung to the door. When the door finally closed, Seongwoo sighed as he took the stack of papers off of Jihoon’s hands. “That Hwang Minhyun, seriously…”

“They have a point though,” Jihoon piped up, “You shouldn’t shoulder everything on your own, even if you’re the president and all that,” With another pat on the raven’s shoulder, Jihoon made his way back to his desk.

Those were the usual interactions that occurred in their student council office. Work is given to Seongwoo, the others try to help even if he says he can handle it, but in the end, his fellow officers would win over his insistence and split his work.

Seongwoo could understand they were worried for him since he isn’t really one of the healthiest in the physical aspect, but he just didn’t like passing off his work to the others. Not only does it make him feel like they might see him as an incapable president, but he doesn’t want to burden the others with what was meant to be his duties either.

“... But just to be aware, I’ll go catch up on Minhyun with the professors,”

“Aish, hyung!” Jihoon whined yet Seongwoo remained childish and brisk walked away before Jihoon could stop him.

“Later, Jihoonie! I’ll be right back!” With that, Seongwoo readjusted his glasses and went on his way towards the faculty room.

 

**...**

 

After at least twelve excruciating hours of being seated on a plane, Kang Daniel finally arrived in Seoul all the way from Canada. It’s been a while since he came back since he spent his high school years in the west, but his parents allowed him to take up university back in Korea if he ever wanted to. Of course, he didn’t waste another minute and boarded the next flight bound for Incheon.

“Shall I get a cart for you?” One of the airport staff asked in English. For a second, he was taken aback at the presence of the guy but he quickly recovered with a smiled and nodded “That would be a huge help, thanks” The staff member looked shocked, probably because of the thick Busan accent before he went off and got a cart.

“My apologies, I thought you were a foreigner judging by the name tag on your luggage,”

“I get that a lot, don’t worry about it,” He chuckled and placed all his luggage on the cart, “Thanks for the help!” He called out and made his way to the exit where he instantly saw Jaehwan along with Jisung and waiting by the car.

“The hell, when did you get so tall?” Jaehwan greeted with a pat on his shoulder while Jisung helped Daniel load his luggage into the trunk. After graduating from middle school, Daniel and his friends all kept in touch regardless of the distance they had. Now that they were finally reunited, it’s as if nothing changed and Daniel was merely gone by a day.

“Wow, nice to see you too,” Daniel sarcastically replied, “You only see me through a small monitor, of course, you wouldn’t notice. And I’ve been updating you about my height! You weren’t listening at all, were you?!” He whined but Jaehwan merely held him at an arm’s length away claiming he might end up crushing him.

“That’s enough, Jaehwan. Just keep your mouth closed for at least five minutes,” Jisung told them off and Daniel even stuck his tongue out. Jisung had to remind him to act like his age most of the time. Indeed things haven’t changed.

“I already got you enrolled in the university I intern in, by the way. You start next week so I suggest you make use of all the free time you have left,” Jisung said as they all got into the car with Jaehwan and Jisung in front and Daniel at the backseat.

“Which is why I already have a hangout planned for us, talked about it with Woojin and the rest of the dance team since I told them you were interested to join.”

“For a second, I was shocked you were part of the dance team but then you mentioned Woojin. That seemed more believable,”

“Shut up,” Daniel merely chuckled at his small victory while they drove off into the city.

 

**...**

 

‘Perfect model student, Ong Seongwoo’ by day.

‘Hardworking and determined Ong Seongwoo’ by night.

 

There was never a ‘perfect’ being in this world, Seongwoo is no exception. He’s the student council President with straight A’s and good looks, even their family is rumored to be ‘perfect’. Rumors in school often say he has everything he needs yet he still insists on having a part-time job to help with his family’s expenses. The rumors weren't completely wrong. Seongwoo was indeed handsome and smart, but his family situation was anything but perfect. Their family was strong that comprised of him, his mom, and his little brother Jinyoung. 

They could have been the 'perfect family' everyone believed to be, but even the brightest of smiles hid the deepest scars. Seongwoo's mom was sick, his father was long gone, and Jinyoung was a mere boy. No one knew how much he had to do to support his family all by himself. That's why he took it upon himself to cover for their expenses as the sole breadwinner of the family.

After school, he works in a cafe three blocks away from his apartment.

But on Wednesdays to Fridays? He works a much later shift, one hidden behind a mask and stage name.

Here he was on a Friday night, strutting around the stage where he and his fellow performers entertain the crowd with seductive gazes, playful tongues, smirks playing on their lips, and hips slowly rolling to the music.

Today just so happens to be leather night as a special request since someone held a private event. All the performers in tight leather pants and harnesses clung onto their torsos were hidden beneath loose white polo shirts. Since it was a ‘special occasion’, all the performers prepared one big number where everyone also has their own chance to shine.

Seongwoo spun once and grind his hips down the floor, hand sensually sliding on the surface as he slowly laid down on his side. He could tell they enjoy it regardless as another smirk played on his lips. The raven rolled to his back and humped the air before he sat up with his back arched to emphasize his curves.

To finish it all off, Seongwoo slid one hand from his shoulder down to his torso until it disappeared between his thighs. The crowd goes wild with various wolf-whistling in the background as Seongwoo smirked and retreated to his original position (not before giving a flying kiss). As a finale to their performance, all the performers stripped off their polo shirts and got off the stage where they finished of the routine.

Another successful night, the raven thought as he and the other dancers went backstage for a breather.

“As always you’re just naturally seductive!” One of his fellow dancers says as he gave Seongwoo a (slightly strong) pat on his back.

“T-Thanks…” She shyly muttered as he slipped off his mask to wipe off his sweat.

“I swear you’re one of the biggest mysteries to me,” The other dancer he remembered as Eunwoo starts. “Out there you’re one of the cheekiest, a huge tease too. Yet when we remove your mask, you end up being this flustered and blushing mess,” He teased with a pinch on Seongwoo’s cheek.

“It’s different!” He pouts at the hand that continues to pinch both his cheeks, “It’s so much easier to do things out of character when people don’t even know who you are!” The other chuckled and even ruffled Seongwoo’s hair after he called him cute. “Hey!”

“Alright you lil tiger, don’t forget the shift isn’t over,” The man said with a smile before he wore a necktie and went back to go around the club. With a long sigh, Seongwoo wore his tie and mask once again before he went out to the crowd.

During the late hours on Wednesdays to Fridays, Seongwoo works as a stripper under the name “Hong Woosung”. A pseudonym he randomly came up with when he jumbled up his name. To be honest, he never intended to be one and circumstances was the only thing that led him to this job.

He used to work as a part of the stage crew. Lights, sounds, runners, whatever they needed since he was already used to leading preparations thanks to his duties as President. But on one event, one of the dancers got injured hours before their stage and they couldn’t cancel the time slot. Everything was already planned out and doing so would cause serious changes.

In the end, they chose Seongwoo to take over. Not because he wanted to, but because they found out he had a background in dance. They claimed it would be easier for someone who already knew how to dance than to look for someone from scratch.

Despite his protests of not being confident enough to do so, one of the dancers handed him a black lacy mask before they got him fixed and ready. He had no other choice but to comply. Luckily, he’s watched the dancers more than the customers ever had whenever they felt like rehearsing backstage. At least he had a vague idea of what he could do.

That night, Seongwoo didn’t really do anything special. He maximized the use of the pole so he minimized the stripping action. They gave him a white polo and black pants too that day. Seongwoo was still clueless back then so he only gave a few body rolls and hip thrusts. For him, it seemed more like he did a modern dance routine that included the pole and him letting his polo naturally fall off his body.

Yet the others disagreed. Instead, he ended up doing better than he thought. With just one performance, he managed to captivate others with the aura of mystery he gave around himself. With the good reception towards his debut performance, Seongwoo kept the mask and the name. The pay was much more than he earned as the waiters of the bar anyway, the more he could earn the better.

“I’ll take this,” Seongwoo said with a smile as he took a tray of drinks from the bar. It was a private event after all. In the middle of the crowd were his fellow dancers but as usual, he was the only one hidden behind a mask.

One thing that served as his unique selling proposition was his affiliation to his black lace mask. It’s gone through various designs before but they would always be black. He was also the youngest at 20 years old and compared to the rest, he was the leanest when it comes to his body structure.

In terms of his dance, he has always been a tease. He never tried to strip down until he was naked. The closest thing he got was letting the upper half of his buttcheeks peek out before he let the garter snap back to his hips. But as time passed, Seongwoo built his confidence underneath the mask of anonymity and started to become bolder.

It’s been four months since he took up the job, no one else knew about his ‘part time job’ aside from his fellow dancers in the club. The entire experience was foreign, but it unexpectedly became something he looked forward to. Good thing the club was quite a distance from the university. He’s never seen anyone from his scho―

“Daniel! Over here!”

Wait, what? Seongwoo looked over his shoulder and there stood the man he was all too familiar with.

The intern Yoon Jisung along with a student, one who he recognized as Kim Jaehwan. “What are they doing here?!” He panicked to himself as his feet automatically turned towards the other direction. “Oh my god, what if they find out I work here? As a stripper nonetheless! It’s going to ruin me―”

“Well look who’s here!” Said a voice just when an arm suddenly wrapped itself around his waist. “Just who we wanted to see. You’re free, aren’t you? Mind if we book you in a private room for tonight?” The man slurred, Seongwoo knew it doesn’t always go well with a wasted man and has always been told to avoid any bookings with them.

“Not tonight, sorry pal,” He replied with a rather teasing tone to mask his nerves. “Oh C'mon! Why don’t we have some fun?” The other man insisted going far as to pull him closer as his hand slid down to Seongwoo’s ass.

“Sir, I’m not―”

“How’s 50,000 won for ya?” The way the man was tugging on his harness was already making him uncomfortable beyond belief, “My apologies, but we don’t offer those services. Now if you may please―”

“C’mon, 200,000 won! Just you and me,” Seongwoo almost went into a full panic when the man gave his ass a firm squeeze if it weren’t for the tight grip that wound itself on Seongwoo’s other arm.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!” The other man said and tugged Seongwoo closer to himself. “I thought you might’ve ditched me, you weren’t going to just leave me behind were you?” Although the man was all smiles to keep up their act, Seongwoo didn’t know whether he should feel relieved or all the more terrified.

Because the man who pulled him away was with the very person he wanted to distance himself from.

_Well fuck._

“Hong-ssi?” Seongwoo’s gaze snapped back up at Daniel (Was he the one they called out?) and Jaehwan who looked expectant for an answer. “Of course not~ Why would I ever ditch you guys?” He said with the most convincing tone he could muster. Luckily it was enough to drive the other man away and Seongwoo sighed in relief.

“Woah,” Seongwoo flinched at the familiar voice of Kim Jaehwan who stood behind him, “He looks even better up close!” The junior said as he leaned forward, Seongwoo took a step back and gulped at the close proximity.

“Thanks?” Wow, confidence. He should facepalm himself for that, “How about you give my friend here a lap dance as a reward?” Daniel sputtered at his own spit and smacked the back of Jaehwan’s head.

“The fuck would I want that?!” Even under the strobe lights, Seongwoo could make out the pink dusting his cheeks. “Don’t listen to him, he’s an idiot.” He said when he turned back to the stripper. “But I do agree with the uh... Beautiful...part…” If only Seongwoo didn’t know who the man behind those words war then he would’ve thought he was adorable. But that wasn’t the case and his heart wasn’t fluttering at the adorable sight either, it was beating so fast it might just pop out of his rib cage.

“Fine, then maybe I’ll let him dance on Woojin instead,” Jaehwan shrugged and left Daniel with his mouth agape. “Let’s go meet the rest!” Jaehwan declared as he dragged Seongwoo to their table where he saw even more familiar faces of the dance team.

_Fucking hell, that mask better not fail him now._

“Hey! Look who played Daniel’s damsel in distress tonight!” Jaehwan announced instantly directing the attention to them, Seongwoo just wanted to shrink in on himself but he couldn’t let himself show that. Instead, he placed down the tray he had which just so happen to have the exact number of drinks.

“No way, seriously? Daniel, what did you get yourself into?”

“Wha― I didn’t do anything wrong! He was looking uncomfortable!” The man they called ‘Daniel’ protested but the others kept teasing him anyway.

“Aish, you’re playing hero again,”

“Tsk tsk tsk, this won’t do Daniel. What if he was just doing his job?”

“He needed to attract clients after all, don’t they need all the tips they can get?”

“That man might’ve been the last one they needed to meet their quota…”

Daniel suddenly looked embarrassed as he facepalmed himself. Seongwoo didn’t miss the blush that crept up his face too. For a man with a large and tough looking physique, he seemed to lean more towards the soft side.

“O-Okay, fine I didn’t think this through,” He admitted with a sheepish scratch to the back of his head. “Sorry… I didn’t cause you any inconveniences did I?” Seongwoo cleared his throat, they didn’t know him right now so maybe he could still do his job. With a small sigh to himself, Seongwoo got back to his role with the usual playful smile on his lips.

“Hm, I don’t know. That could’ve cost me you know? They were two men after all…” He pretended to ponder at the thought, “I haven’t found a client for tonight… Ah, what to do...” He mumbled loud enough for the others to hear as he scanned through the crowd behind him.

“How about we book you for the night?” Daniel asked. Seongwoo has to admit, he was rather shocked since he didn’t expect such an offer. But then who was he to complain? It’s not like Daniel attends his school anyway. The raven smirked as he saw Daniel once again looking flustered on the spot, another slip of the tongue he supposed.

“Woah Daniel, what did Canada do to you?” Jaehwan cackled along with a hard pat to Daniel’s back. Woojin and the others, whom he recognized as Taehyun and Jihoon, were wolf-whistling in the background as they gave him a push until he almost stumbled on Seongwoo himself.

“That,” Seongwoo started as he slid his hand down Daniel’s torso, “Can be arranged,” He finished with a seductive curve along his lips. The rest of the gang cheered him on when Seongwoo took a few steps forward until he sat Daniel back on his seat.

“Just relax… and enjoy the show,” He whispered close enough for Daniel to feel his breath against his ear. The stripper slowly backed away just in time for the music to change into one with a slower and sensual feel. With practiced movements and expression, Seongwoo instantly gets into the feel of the music as he slowly moves to the beat.

Seongwoo rolled his body to the music and thrust his hips at the sound of the bass. He was obviously feelings himself, hands slid down his own body as he slowly lowered himself with his legs spread apart. The raven crawled forward as close to the floor with his ass up in the air. He then rolled his hips as he looked up at Daniel smirking at the blush that makes his way to his cheeks. The stripper sat back up, his body doing huge body rolls as he leaned back with one arm supporting his body.

With the loud cheers that erupted from their group, Seongwoo managed to attract a small crowd around himself. Looks like he was getting more than he thought he would. Seongwoo got up and teased the crowd by getting near them, only letting their hands leave fleeting touches. Though the others were swift enough to stick bills into the hem of his pants and the garter on his bicep. After circling the small open area, Seongwoo turned back to Daniel with that smirk once again on his lips.

Though he felt rather satisfied when Daniel licked his bottom lip showing just how much of an effect he had on him. Seongwoo bid his time with slow strides and even winked at Daniel on the way. The raven spread his legs as wide as he could even when he straddled Daniel’s lap. Seongwoo gained a bit of confidence from that, not like the man went to his university anyway.

Seongwoo experimentally rolled his hips in various angles to see just which would make Daniel fall apart. When he got a strong reaction from the blonde man, Seongwoo grinds down in that slow body roll that has Daniel hardening at the motion. The stimulation proved too much when Daniel held onto Seongwoo’s shoulder as he thrust his hips upwards to grind back for more friction.

The stripper’s breath hitched, loud enough only for Daniel to hear. The blonde man gained a surge of confidence and rolled the raven’s nipples under the harness in his fingers. For a moment, Seongwoo’s movement stuttered which only pushed Daniel with his ministrations further and took one bud in his mouth. The raven couldn’t hold back the moan that slipped his lips. This wasn’t what he expected, neither did he think about his hands that wound itself on Daniel’s soft blonde locks.

For a moment, Seongwoo indulged too much and forgot he had an audience. He only snapped out of his thoughts when Woojin and the rest howled as Daniel slid his hands down his sides. Lucky for him, the song ended before Daniel could reach his hips and he took the chance to pull away. Just as he does to the rest, get them riled up and leave them hanging. He was pretty sure it worked when he saw Daniel’s hair all messed up and a tent forming in his pants.

Just as what he does to the rest, yet he couldn’t believe how for a moment he lost himself to the feeling. Seongwoo blinked and snapped back to reality as more won bills flew towards his direction. The night flew by fast, Seongwoo vaguely remembered dancing for Woojin and the rest as well (of course with the fear of being recognized still clutching his heart). With another flying kiss thrown towards Daniel, Seongwoo struts away deeming his shift done for today.

Daniel, on the other hand, is left dumbstruck and mesmerized even as the man behind the mask walked away out of sight.

 

**...**

 

Seongwoo was pretty sure he never met the man he danced to last Friday night.

That blonde guy they called ‘Daniel’.

So why… is he here?!

Seongwoo probably looked stupid gaping at the sight of the said blonde man who stood in front of him wearing the same uniform he did.

“Seongwoo?” Jisung’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, “You okay?” He asked with a worried tone which prompted the President to clear his throat. “U-Um, right. Yes. I’m fine” Well this was most definitely unexpected. “You’re starting to lose focus again, you should really let the other officers help you more often,” He nagged while Seongwoo is left sheepishly scratching his cheek trying to convince Jisung he was fine.

“Ack, whatever. Just be sure not to get sick!” Jisung finished with a huff before he pushed the blonde man forward. “As I was saying, this is a fellow friend of ours, Daniel. Kang Daniel. He just got back from Canada last week but we already got him arranged before he even arrived so I’m relying on you to show him around.” Jisung patted his shoulder before he turned towards the exit.

“Oh, and don’t be deceived by his name. Daniel is completely Korean. Okay, see you all later!” He waved as he finally left the room. For the first time, Seongwoo felt disappointed he couldn’t pass down the task to someone else.

“Your moles are really pretty,” Daniel blurted out and once again, Seongwoo is caught off guard. Yet he raised a hand to brush it against his said birthmark. “I-I mean uh―they’re really beautiful, you know? Kinda like yo― the stars! A constellation of some sort, yeah that…” Daniel has never wanted to bang his head on a wall so hard. “Thanks…” The slightly smaller boy mumbled and that was enough to make Daniel sure it was okay.

“Well… Shall we um, get going then?” Seongwoo gestured towards the door and Daniel merely nodded in compliance. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go!” He said with that bright smile that could probably blind anyone within his vicinity.

It wasn’t the first time Seongwoo had to show anyone around, it was his job as the Student Council President to make sure new students and transferees get to know their way around after all. But today just seemed… different. Surely, Daniel didn’t catch on to his identity. Right?

“So, you’re the student council president, right?” Daniel asked, Seongwoo merely nodded with a smile.  “Yeah, that’s me. Can’t promise I can always be there to help since I’m in my senior year now but don’t hesitate to approach me for help! I’ll do my best to help you around the university,”

Daniel was anything but shady and suspicious. If anything, he was a complete opposite of what Seongwoo thought he’d be. Maybe he was just dragged into the bar last night. Fortunately for him, then the chances of Daniel recognizing him would be much closer to nonexistent.

In the end, He couldn’t let his thoughts stop him from doing his duties. With a renewed sense of duty, Seongwoo continued to show Daniel around campus to make sure he can find his way around their university.

 

**...**

 

Another Wednesday night means another late shift for Seongwoo. Good thing he decided to finish that long essay yesterday. For some reason, tonight seemed to be busier than usual. Though it seemed like someone already booked him for tonight in advance, guess he should be thankful for that.

In return, he decided to go for a cozy yet sensual kind of outfit. It was the usual black ensemble for today with a plain shirt and skinny jeans to emphasize some shape on his legs. Though he felt a little playful tonight, he doesn’t get booked often at this time of the year. He decided to wear some of his heels to finish off his whole outfit.

After putting on one of the many black lace masks he had, Seongwoo made his way to the private room booked for them tonight. Though this was probably the second time he turned into a statue this week, “Hey…” Because the man who seemed to book him for tonight was none other than Kang Daniel himself. _Alright, work that confidence._ Seongwoo thought before he closed the door behind him.

“Last time didn’t satisfy you?” He playfully asked as he strode towards Daniel his heels clicking against the tiles. Surprisingly, he was a little bolder without his friends around. “Would it be bad to say it didn’t?” The raven blinked, for a moment he lost his composure, “It seems I’ll have to work harder then,” He said with a pretend frustrated sigh and a pout finishing it off.

“Should I try again?” Seongwoo asked as he leaned forward, hands resting on Daniel’s crossed legs. “Entertainers like you dance, don’t they?” The latter asked as he rested his chin on his palm. “Then I’d prefer you dance,” He merely said, eyes meeting Seongwoo’s own as the older man smirked before he backed away.

“You look familiar,” Seongwoo instantly froze, head slowly turning to the side as he tried his best to mask his shock. “Is this another flirting method lately?” He chuckled hoping to divert the thought from Daniel’s head. “It almost feels like the student council prez earlier,” The blonde chuckled to himself while Seongwoo fidgeted with his fingers.

“He was pretty, really pretty even if he had those glasses,” He mused to himself yet Seongwoo felt flattered knowing some people actually see him that way. “Is that so? I’m right here in front of you though, why think about someone else?” The raven playfully said with a pout and it has Daniel chuckling at the childishness.

After going through his list of songs, he finally settled on one he was most familiar with. Jason Derulo’s ‘Wiggle’. A playful beat but one he could still incorporate sexy moves to. Then I’ll be doing freestyle today~” Seongwoo singsonged as he positioned himself in the middle of the room. The raven spent a few seconds jumping around to warm up and stretch his body. He might dance until he caught craps again and that would definitely be embarrassing.

Seongwoo spent the first verse bending forward to reach the floor, a small show of his flexibility as well as to properly stretch his legs. Not without putting a bit of sexiness into it. By the time the first chorus rolled in, Seongwoo started to ride the beat. Body moving along with the beat, hips rolling along as he looked back at Daniel for one last time.

_It’s been a while since he had a chance to dance like this._

With a small smirk on his lips, Seongwoo gave a strong start with a bit of sass as he moved around the room rocking his hips to the beat. Although Daniel was already amazed by the unexpected skill, the raven took it a step further. Seongwoo went for faster movements, arms incorporating sharp movement. Of course, he doesn’t forget to tease as he would ever so often slide his loose black shirt up enough to show parts of his torso.

In the end, he tops it all off with a leap to the air only to land on his hands to go straight for a grind on the floor. Seongwoo sat back up visibly panting and sweating at the more intense dance routine while Daniel merely looked dumbstruck.

“Damn, I didn’t think you had that much in you,” The latter said in a more appreciative note, “I dance an entirely different genre so I must say it’s really different,”

“And how different is your genre exactly?”

“B-boying,” Seongwoo arched a brow, not too many people choose to b-boy in Korea after all. At least, none he was familiar with anyway. “Oh? It really is as different as you said it was, how about showing off for a bit?” He asked. It’s not every day he gets to see someone b-boy after all.

“Alright,” Daniel responded with that playful grin as he also warmed up where Seongwoo stood earlier. “Well prepare to be blown away!” He playfully challenged claiming he’d execute a perfect windmill enough to surprise the older man.

In the end, Seongwoo was indeed ‘blown away’ as Daniel executed a windmill as if it wasn’t a big deal. Seongwoo ended up asking him to show more of what he could do until their time was finally up. Although Seongwoo felt rather disappointed, a job was still a job and he bid farewell to the blonde man.

As their time was up, Daniel immediately left the establishment and (Seongwoo assumed) went straight home.

Come to think of it, why did he book him in the first place?

 

**...**

 

“Aish, of all days―!” Seongwoo mumbled to himself as he sought for shelter in the nearby cafe from the strip club. He often listened to the morning news every day most especially to the weather forecast. He knew the next few days were expecting a downpour, so how could he still forget to bring an umbrella with him?!

“It slipped my mind again…” He whined as he shook his head to get some of the water off and took off his blazer uniform. At least that’s one less piece of clothing clinging onto his skin. The raven sighed and wiped the fog off his lenses.

“Oh, Seongwoo?” A voice called out which prompted Seongwoo to put his specs back on. It was his boss whenever he worked in the cafe, Ha Sungwoon. “Ah, hyung!” He greeted with a small bow. “I just sought for some shelter from the rain,”

“You’re all wet!” The smaller man said and tugged him into the store, “Let’s get you dried up! Good thing I keep some extra clothes in here―”

“No! It’s fine! I wouldn’t want to burden you or anything―” He tried to pull away, as he pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. Really, he wasn’t going to fall sick that quick. Did he look that frail to others?

“Not at all! You’ll get sick at this rate, at least dry off your hair!” He insisted, Seongwoo gave in when Sungwoon finally pulled him into the shop but the warmth of the establishment was enough to make him cave.

“Here!” Sungwoon said as he threw one of the dry towels on Seongwoo’s head. “Thanks,” He mumbled before he dried his hair.

8:25pm

His shift would start in less than an hour yes he isn’t dressed yet, he needed to leave now.

“Thank for the towel, hyung. I’ll be sure to return it on my next shift―”

“Wait, you’re leaving already?” Sungwoon looked shocked when Seongwoo nodded. “It’s still showering outside! What’s the use of drying up only to get soaked again?” Sungwoon nagged on and on but the raven sheepishly scratched his head.

“I know, I know! But I really need to go now, sorry!” Before Sungwoon could open his mouth, Seongwoo bolts out the door braving through the rain. Lucky for him, the club was just a few blocks away but he ended up once again soaked as he went through the back entrance.

“There you are! I thought you wou―Seongwoo! What the hell get yourself dried up!” Eunwoo said and rushed to get him a towel, “Didn’t you know it was going to be rainy?” The second time Seongwoo got nagged in the same night, “I did! But I just rushed out towards uni I forgot to grab my umbrella!” He whined as he got out of his clothes to dry himself properly.

“Well you’ll have to get ready soon, someone booked you in advance again and you wouldn’t want to keep them waiting,” Eunwoo warned before he left for his own shift, “Okay!” The raven called out as he finally dried his hair and combed it down to make it look as decent as possible. Good thing he often left spare clothes and masks in his locker in the club.

Though the mask was… entirely lace. There was nothing solid to attach the lace to, it was just lace with loops on the ends to hook behind his ears. It’s not like he had any other choice anyway, the mask in his bag was partially soaked after all. Hopefully, his sweatpants and black shirt would do for today.

After changing into drier clothing, Seongwoo hooked the mask behind his ears and went towards the booked room (Not before he left his clothes up to dry). For a moment, Seongwoo let out another breath to put on his usual stripper facade for tonight. The raven plastered another smile on his face before he knocked onto the door.’

“Sorry about that, did you wait too long~?” He playfully asked as he closed the door behind him, but the man behind the door was not someone he expected at all. Because why the heck was Kang Daniel here again?! And his mask― dammit, hopefully, it would still be nice to hide his identity.

“Not at all,” Daniel said with a smile. Seongwoo smiled back and took a seat right beside Daniel on the couch, legs crossed as he leaned towards Daniel’s side. “You’ve been booking me a lot lately, did you like me that much?” The raven teasingly asked with a hand massaging Daniel’s thigh.

“Maybe I do,” Daniel responded, that was enough to throw him off guard. “A-Ah you’re such a tease~” The masked man giggled and turned away to hide the warmth that spread on his cheek. “S―… So why did you really book me again? Do I not do enough for you?” He pouted, Daniel merely pinched his cheek.

“I just wanted to talk,”

“...Talk?” Well, that was new.

“Y-yeah, talk. Does that… sound strange?” Daniel said with a sheepish scratch to his chin.

“No! Um, no. Not at all.” It was just something he isn’t often booked for. “What made you want to just talk though?”

“Heh, well… I don’t know. There’s just something about you that seemed interesting to me,” He shrugged, “I guess you could say I wanted to know you better?” Seongwoo couldn’t help but laugh. “Why would you even want to get to know me better? I’m just a stripper you met…”

“You say that, but I believe you’re more than just a stripper beneath the mask you wear every night,” Once again, Seongwoo is left dumbstruck at the blonde man. No one has ever shown interest beyond his facade as “Hong Woosung”.

“Come to think of it, why do you wear a mask? The other performers don’t,” The blonde man points out as he brushed his finger against the lace on his cheek. His gaze was gentle yet Seongwoo felt nervous under his observant eyes.

“It’s like… a false sense of security,” Seongwoo couldn’t think of a better way to phrase it. “People not knowing who I was, it gave me more confidence in a way, I could make a mistake and no one would associate it with me,”

“I think you’d look handsome under your mask,” Daniel blurted out, Seongwoo couldn’t help but blink in surprise. “I don’t really know why, I just think you’d be,” The hand that brushed his mask slid down his cheek Seongwoo had to hold back a shudder at the gentleness of the touch. Though he noticed Daniel’s eyes focus on one spot.

“I didn’t know you had moles under your eyes,” How many times did he end up freezing in front of this man? “It’s a pity you hide it behind the mask―” When Daniel slipped his pinky under the mask to get a glimpse of the moles, Seongwoo instantly panicked and did whatever he could to divert his attention.

He kissed him.

Fan-fucking-tastic, another problem to deal with.

But he doesn’t back down. Instead, he pushed in deeper enough to push Daniel back onto the couch. Maybe it was just out of panic, but he can’t do anything about it now. He needed to finish what he started. Seongwoo climbed onto his lap, Daniel’s hands finding their place on his thin waist as he wrapped his arms around his neck. Although he successfully dodged the very giveaway of his identity, he had an entirely different matter to worry about.

Daniel swiped his tongue on his lower lip and Seongwoo parted his lips. As he explored the raven’s warm cavern, his hands slid down until it cupped his ass. The raven let out a content sigh. Even when Daniel gave both cheeks a firm squeeze, the older man’s breath hitched and pushed back on the hands.

Seongwoo’s hand slid to Daniel’s crotch and gave the semi-hard erection a squeeze. Daniel’s hold on his waist tightened, “You sure this is okay?” He managed to say, Seongwoo nodded as he massaged the bulge. “I’ve got you, don’t worry,” He whispered. Daniel doesn’t hesitate after that, thumbs slipping underneath his black shirt and hikes it up until Seongwoo’s nipples met the cool air.

The raven let out a content sigh as Daniel pressed his thumbs down onto the slowly hardening nubs. “Sensitive here, aren’t you?” The blonde chuckled as he rolled the nipples in his fingers eliciting a shaky moan from Seongwoo. “Aren’t you?” The raven shot back as his hands stroked the abs beneath his hoodie.

Daniel doesn’t reply, instead, he captured one nipple in his mouth biting, sucking, and lapping at the sensitive bud. It made Seongwoo crave for more with his fingers tightening its grasp on his shoulders to hold him closer. Daniel’s hands travel lower on his body. His fingers now gripping his hip bones pulling him impossibly close and caressing the soft skin over the hem of his sweats.

“Wait, is this even okay?” Daniel hesitates even with his thumb already dipping into his sweats. “You’re a stripper, isn’t that different from being a prostitute?” The raven couldn’t help but chuckle, “I should at least be happy you know the difference, some people don’t get it,” It was Daniel’s turn to look shocked with his mouth left agape.

“Y-You mean some people pounce you?! Is that it?” Seongwoo thought his panicked tone sounded adorable but he didn’t forget to flash a reassuring smile. “Thankfully, it’s a rare occurrence. That’s why each room has guards waiting outside the rooms,” The younger man let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders finally slumped in relief.

“I know what I’m doing whenever I’m here, why? Are you worried?”

“You can’t blame me!” The younger boy whined while his fingers slid more into the waistband. “It’s fine,” Seongwoo breathed out, trying not to shiver at the touch, “As long as it’s consensual, it’s fine,” He finished as he encouraged Daniel’s hand to go further, especially when his hand was mere inches from where he wanted them to be.

“Fuck, just do it, please,” Seongwoo practically whined to his ear. This may have been done out of panic. It wasn’t supposed to happen but he was too far gone into it and his body has been very expressive with his desire too. Though it didn’t seem like he was the only one enjoying the moment as if the bulge rubbing against his own wasn’t enough evidence.

Without any warning, Seongwoo braced himself on Daniel’s shoulders and pushed down grinding their erections against each other. Even as a colorful string of curses slipped through Daniel’s lips, his grip on his hip merely tightened and Seongwoo pouted in disappointment. “Don’t you want to?” He whined as he continued to roll his hips.

“You’re not giving me time to breathe at all, aren’t you?” Daniel said before he reached down and grasped Seongwoo’s crotch effectively making him stop as he let out a shaky gasp. “My turn,” Daniel’s large hand coaxed his cock to life with his fingers stroking and tightening his hold on his manhood.

Daniel untied the string to Seongwoo’s sweats and slipped the hands on his hips down until half of his ass was peeking out. So close, just a little more down and his dick could already be free from its restraint but Daniel was being cheeky. He doesn’t pull it further, hands resting on his lower back and sliding down on his ass to give it another firm squeeze.

Daniel spent a lot of time fondling his ass. Squeezing, massaging, pinching, and pulling it apart. Anything to get a reaction out of the other but the other was much more sensitive than he thought with all the noises spilling out of his lips. Although the raven loved the touch, his hard-on was starting to hurt and he would much rather have his attention there.

Seongwoo pulled his own sweats down, cock springing free and reached for Daniel’s own buckle quickly undoing it with practiced precision. “Eager,” Is the only word Daniel uttered before Seongwoo undid his buttons and pulled out his cock making the blonde groan at the cold air.

The raven stripper gave Daniel’s cock a few pumps and used his other hand to pump his own. The feeling of his cock finally getting its much-needed attention made his toes curl and quickened his pace, hoping to push himself closer to the edge to get that familiar burst of euphoria. But Daniel stopped his wrist. Instead, he held both of their cocks in his fist and pumped both of their erections causing them to rub against one another.

Surprisingly, Seongwoo was more vocal. Stuttered moans and gasps (majority from Seongwoo), the slick sound of precum, and an abandoned playlist playing in the background filled the silent air of their private room. When Daniel brought up two of his fingers to the stripper’s lips, Seongwoo took the digits into his mouth and swirled his tongue around the long fingers. It was enough to muffle his moans for a few moments.

When Daniel pulled his hand back, he started stroking faster prompting their moans to grow louder. Seongwoo felt like a hot mess, his body felt so warm but at the same time, he could feel all his blood rush south at the quickening flick of Daniel’s wrist. But Daniel was definitely taking his sweet time slowing down his pace when he could feel both of them nearly falling off the edge. Though Seongwoo hits him when he does but Daniel only laughs it off.

Moments later, Seongwoo felt Daniel’s other hand once again position itself on his lower back. His fingers dangerously close to his rim yet it only made his heart beat faster. Though he wasn’t sure whether it was nerves or anticipation clinging onto his heart. When Daniel slid that finger along the crack of his ass, Seongwoo gasped and shivered at the contact before he hid his face in the crook of Daniel’s neck.

“...Should I stop?” The junior asked with hesitance evident in his tone, but Seongwoo shook his head and once again grasped onto Daniel’s broad shoulders. “Do it, please,” His voice barely going above a whisper at the embarrassing request. Daniel’s body shook as a chuckle escaped his lips and Seongwoo felt his face heat up in embarrassment. But the latter was quick to reassure him his laugh meant no judgment rather because of how embarrassed he was to want it.

Daniel slid his finger lower until he brushed against his hole once again making him shiver at the contact. But Seongwoo grew impatient, Daniel kept poking it not daring to push further and Seongwoo practically pushed back against the finger prompting Daniel to do more. After several whines and an eternity of teasing later, Daniel pushed in the tip of his finger which caused Seongwoo to arch his back with a low moan. “G-Go on…” He whispered and so Daniel does push in, slowly until he was knuckle-deep it has Seongwoo panting at the sensation.

Honestly, it’s been quite a while since Seongwoo got laid. It’s not something he often does, not even for his job. It never goes beyond handjobs and oral sex yet here he was making exceptions for Daniel. Although it was to effectively divert his attention from his moles (which it did), Seongwoo couldn’t help but feel less nervous about the other’s presence.

Daniel thrusts his finger in and out of his hole eventually adding another one to stretch him further. Though when he curled his fingers while they were deep inside him, Seongwoo dragged on a loan moan back arching as it brushed against his prostate. Daniel continued to thrusts and eventually quickened his pace to match the rhythm of his wrist flicking at their erections.

Seongwoo was close, dangerously close to coming and Daniel seemed to notice. The blonde man once again took his nipple into his mouth to repeat his earlier ministrations, once again biting and lapping at the pink nubs as he quickened the pace of his hands.

Seongwoo was completely overwhelmed with all the simulations bombarding his senses. His mind was nothing but a mess of desperate cries for relief as Daniel quickened his flicks, his thrusts, and even sucked on his pecs hard enough to leave a mark. When Seongwoo came all over their stomachs, his body goes limp panting at the exhaustion, still high in the feeling of orgasm.

Daniel doesn’t mind though. Even when he’s supporting all of Seongwoo’s weight, he continued to stroke at his own cock which was still erect with beads of precum dripping from the head. Though Seongwoo felt drained, he felt kinda guilty to leave Daniel hanging like that. So when he mustered a bit of the energy he had left, Seongwoo took over Daniel’s hand and started a lazy rhythm.

The younger man doesn’t mind though as he still groaned at the sensation of another man’s hand on his dick. When Seongwoo finally caught his breath, he sat up and pumped his hand faster enough to make moans escape from the plump pink lips.

Seongwoo stood back up only to lower himself to the floor. His hands continue to pump at a faster pace but not enough to finish the deed. When he was seated between Daniel’s legs, only then does he let go and only then does Daniel notice where the raven positioned himself.

“What are you doing?” He managed to say out in between breaths and Seongwoo only replied with a smile, “Returning the favor,” Was all he said before he took in Daniel’s length in his mouth and Daniel nearly choked on his spit. Seongwoo almost gagged when he took in most of the cock all at once but he eventually gets it deep down his throat as he held onto Daniel’s thighs for support.

When Seongwoo adjusted to the size, the raven started to lap at the cock. His tongue swirled and flattened underneath his shaft only to lick the entire length and suck at the tip. Seongwoo continued to suck at the head as his hand fondled his balls. The raven took him in so well, Daniel couldn’t resist and thrusts upward making him moan. But damn, the vibrations were enough to make him cave and spurt hot cum down the stripper’s throat.

Although Seongwoo was taken aback, he was still able to swallow down the cum and made sure to milk him down to the last drop. When Seongwoo fixed Daniel and himself up, he reached for the tissues by the table and wiped off the mess he made all over their abdomens.

“I guess you could say you got more than you paid for?” Seongwoo teasingly starts as he threw the tissues into the bin. “I mean, I’d like to believe I’m a good fuck at least~” He singsonged to himself before he made his way to Daniel, yet Daniel only stared at him with a blank look on his face.

“Does the mask mean that much to you?” Well, Seongwoo wasn’t expecting that “I―I… uhm… yes, it does,” He mumbled as he unconsciously lifted a hand to his mask. Before Daniel could utter another word, a knock echoed through their private room as the assigned guard signaled their time was up for tonight.

For a moment, nobody moved from their spots. Seongwoo fidgeted from where he stood while Daniel merely looked at him as if he looked for the right words to say but he ended up with none. Daniel stood up and walked midway until he stopped right in front of the raven still hidden behind his mask of black lace.

“I guess I’ll see you next time?” That usual question and smile he always does whenever it’s time to leave.

“We’ll see~” Was his usual response with a cheeky smile that has Daniel chuckling at the childishness.

Today, Seongwoo left Daniel in the middle of the room. He still had some time before his shift was over. Daniel, on the other hand, contemplates at the events that transpired for the duration of the night. Though he discovered one interesting thing today.

Hong Woosung sure has pretty moles on his cheek.

 

**...**

 

When Seongwoo thought of how everyone kept nagging at him to avoid getting sick, Seongwoo thought they were being ridiculous. He can’t possibly be that weak, right?

WRONG.

If he were living with his mom right now, then she would definitely nag at him for being careless even if she herself wasn't the healthiest. Because here he was the following day, stuck on his bed and his body feeling all too heavy with the familiar feeling of a fever solidifying its hold on his body. Seongwoo’s head throbbed at the pain, the back of his eyes felt so warm, and his body just felt really hot.

Is this because he just plopped onto the bed when he got home last night?

The raven sighed, he couldn't catch a fever now. Not when they had so much to go through for today’s student council meeting (not to mention his flawless attendance record). His body felt heavy, his entire being felt weak, yet his stubborn side somehow finds its way through the different thoughts shrouding his brain as he reached for the usual round specs resting on his nightstand.

He had no time to waste, he still had an 8 am class to catch.

Seongwoo did what he could in the fastest pace possible (fastest in a way turning his head wouldn’t give him a migraine to last the day). Cold shower, few slices of toast, and a pill of Advil to serve as temporary relief. At least this time he remembers to bring his umbrella.

The first few steps toward the bus station were hard. But when the painkillers finally kicked in, Seongwoo felt like his headache was nothing but a dream as he attended his classes with no problem. Everything was going fine.

“Hyung!” A very familiar face called out, Seongwoo tried not to flinch at the appearance of the familiar mop of blonde hair that ran towards him that afternoon. “The dance team wanted to ask for assistance regarding our competition this weekend. Also, we were wondering if anyone was scheduled to rent the bus this Saturday? It’s for the sake of transportation too,” He said, all with a bright smile plastered on his face. Like how he usually is every single day.

For a moment, Seongwoo forgot he was even talking to someone until the said someone poked his shoulder. “Hyung? Seongwoo hyung? Are you okay?” He called out, successfully snapping the President out of his thoughts. “Oh―Uhm― Yes. I mean, No! No one has… rented the bus yet,” _Calm down, Seongwoo! He doesn’t know you!_ He breathed as he tried to look unfazed but the warmth tickling his cheeks was enough to give it all away even when he tried to hide it by adjusting his glasses.

“Oh, cool! We’ll take the bus with us this Saturday then, is that fine?”

“I’ll just have to notify the staff so they can refuel it and stuff, do you need anything else?” Daniel seemed to ponder for a moment until he snapped his finger in realization, “Have we touched the allocated budget for the team yet?”

“Hm, I don’t think you have. Isn’t this your first competition for the year?” He said as he tapped on his chin in thought, “Alright! I’ll be sure to tell the other’s about it then, I can hand a list of things we might need to you this afternoon after today’s practice. Is that okay?” Somehow, Seongwoo could see an image of a puppy overlapping Daniel himself with all the excitement and energy he was radiating on the spot.

“Sure, you can hand it to me after the student council meeting so I can go over it at home,” Daniel, all giddy and bouncing on his spot, nodded in response. “Is there anything else you need?” He asked to make sure but Daniel merely looked at him with his head tilted to the side, “I think I should be asking that question. You’re looking pale, hyung. Are you okay?” He said as he looked at the pink that dusted his cheeks.

But Seongwoo was stubborn, he always has been. As long as he could walk and move around, he considered himself fine. “Feeling perfect, nothing to worry about,” He insists with a smile yet Daniel still appeared skeptical at the twitch on the corner of his lip.

“You sure? You don’t look so good,” Seems Daniel himself was also persistent as he reached out his hand towards Seongwoo but the raven instinctively swatted his hand away.

“I-It’s nothing a pill of Advil can’t fix,” He said with another one of his ‘president-like’ smiles, The next moment, Daniel merely shrugged and went back to his never-ending smiles, “Alright, I’ll see you later, hyung!” He called out before he ran off towards his next class. “No running in the halls! Classes are on-going!” Seongwoo called out, Daniel almost screeched to a stop and gave a quick bow in apology before he continued to walk.

Seongwoo took another pill of Advil afterward.

Everything was fine. Even when they held the student council meeting that afternoon, he still carried himself well and facilitated the entire meeting even when a dull throb by the back of his head proved to be distracting. The painkiller still did its job of lessening it at least.

But when the others finally left, the adrenaline that kept his mind alive and kicking finally collapsed and so did he. Only then did he register his soft pants as he rested his head on his folded arms on the desk where he was flanked with piles of papers all for him to look through and analyze.

“I guess they were right about me being physically weak after all…” He mumbled to himself, though he did a great job today even with the weight of his headache holding him down. A bit of shuteye wouldn’t be bad for once. Maybe that would be enough to get rid of his headache.

In the end, sleep got its hands on him faster than he thought it would, was he really that tired? Maybe it was just his headache weighing him down. Yeah, that was probably it. Before he could drift off to dreamland, his mind barely registered the sound of rushed footsteps that echoed through the empty halls.

“.... Hyung! Seongwoo hyung!” The familiar baritone that bounced off the walls of the corridor snapped Seongwoo out of his nap and sat up faster than he intended. Unfortunately for him, the quick motion sent another wave of pain throb in his head while his glasses fell on his desk. Seongwoo couldn’t help but hold his head in his hands and hoped it would calm down.

“Seongwoo hyung!” The voice, now closer than ever, was indeed the same one that echoed through the walls. There, by the doorway, was Daniel now with several papers in his hand and looked out of breath as he rested his hand on his knee.

“I already told you no running,” Seongwoo softly called out as he leaned back on his seat and tried to look like he wasn’t in pain. “Sorry, hyung. No one was in any of the rooms in this floor so I thought you’d let it slide for today. And I was afraid you might have left already so...” He said with a sheepish scratch on his cheek, Daniel couldn’t help but think how different the President looked without those round glasses that covered half his face.

“Alright, I’ll let it slide for now,” Maybe it was the throbbing in his head that made him give in so easily. “So what’s so important you had to run all the way here?” He asked as he remembered the sheets Daniel had.

“Oh! Right, here’s the list I told you earlier!” He said with that usual smile as he handed the now wrinkled sheets of paper.

“The.. list?”

“The list of things we might need. And kind of a budget proposal of how much we’re going to bring I think?” The blonde student shrugged yet he still continued to smile.

“Oh… right. Right, I’ll have a look at it later. Just… put it here,” He said as he rested his cheek on his palm, “Thanks for your help,” “If anyone asked him, that almost sounded groggy and he felt like slapping himself for it. Yet, as always, he tried to play it off with a smile. When Daniel does put it down, he ducked down and unintentionally came face-to-face with the student council President.

Only then does he notice the dark circles hidden a smudged layer of concealer and the exhaustion his body radiated. “You shouldn't stay so late, hyung. You’re not looking so good.” He absentmindedly commented but Seongwoo merely waved it off as he puts on his glasses.

“Nothing a pill of Advil can’t fix―”

For a moment, his vision went black. The last thing he remembered was an attempt to stand to get another pill of Advil from his bag. But when he finally opened his eyes (wait, when did he close them?), he was met with the sight of Daniel looking frantic. “..ng...yung… Hyung!” When he finally stopped seeing two Daniel’s, he realized that the blonde junior seemed closer than earlier.

“What…?” He weakly asked. Seongwoo looked around. His desk was right there, so was the whiteboard filled with details of today’s meeting and… Daniel who was impossibly close. More like, he was impossibly close.

Because he was actually the one in Daniel’s arms as the young boy held him by the biceps to keep him up.

“Hyung, you’re burning up!” Daniel sounded panicked yet Seongwoo remained adamant as he tried to push the larger one away. “I’m f-fine…” But Seongwoo was forced to look up when Daniel placed his palm against his forehead. “No, hyung. You should rest for today, just sleep…” He whispered as he ran his hand through the older male’s hair.

Seongwoo’s breathing already grew heavy, eyes half-lidded, body temperature skyrocketing at every passing minute.  It didn’t take long before his body finally reached its limit. The blurry image of Daniel suddenly faded to black as his body grew limp in the blonde student’s arms.

 

**...**

 

“He should take care of himself more often,” Daniel mumbled to himself as he helped the now unconscious Seongwoo to the nurse’s office. Unfortunately for them, the nurse was long gone considering how the sky was already a mix of orange hues. But Daniel didn’t mind, he was just after the beds anyway to let Seongwoo sleep properly.

Daniel gently manhandled him to the bed and tucked him in with a blanket. The blonde also placed their bags by the desk and carefully slipped off Seongwoo’s glasses placing it by their bags. After he rummaged through the various drawers and cabinets, he finally found cooling patches and plastered one to his forehead.

“That should help cool him down,” He triumphantly declared at the satisfaction towards his efforts. The blonde sauntered back to the desk and plopped down on the chair. If they were going to be here for a while then he might as well get some work done too.

The blonde transferee decided to catch up on school work and took out several books and his notebook to go through everything he didn’t quite understand. Maybe he could ask from Jisung and the rest if he got the chance.

Science hasn’t always been his forte. Some of it was enough to catch his attention but others just leave his brain all jumbled and confused. Doesn’t help when he would unintentionally fall asleep in his classes when he stayed up all night playing games either.

At least today, he paid extra attention to the lecture and took down a lot of stuff but some of it was still kinda vague to him. Science already gave him a hard time, what more when partnered up with math? “Who invented physics anyway,” He grumbled while he chewed on the tip of his pen. In the end, he groaned in frustration and slammed his head down the desk.

“Argh! Physics is such a pa―Woah!” Daniel cuts himself off just in time to catch Seongwoo’s glasses when it slipped off the desk. “Ah that was close―” Before Seongwoo’s bag ended up falling instead.

“... I hope there was nothing breakable in there,” Daniel gulped as he picked up the bag from the floor. Luckily for him, everything seemed to be in order. Nothing looking damaged or destroyed but he also found something of use.

“This must be the Advil he mentioned, didn’t think he actually was carrying some. I should give it to him when he wakes up…” The blonde student leaned back to put the bottle side in case he does end up dropping the bag again. He wouldn’t want to endanger Seongwoo with glass shards in his bag.

Though there was something much more interesting than a bottle of Advil.

When Daniel leaned back, something else slipped off of the bag. One he was all too familiar with. “What…?” He leaned down and picked up the strange item off the floor.

A black lace mask.

Daniel carefully held the mask in his hands. The memory of his first encounter with it still a vivid image in his mind he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it was the same one.

… Or is it?

“Maybe I’m just overreacting… what are the odds of this mask being the only one in existence, right?” He said to himself in a poor attempt at reassurance. But when his gaze lands on their President, he couldn’t shake the image off. Even if they had the same physique, that doesn’t serve as a valid conclusion.

He knew they were different, way too different to be considered as such but weren’t there movies about alter egos too? The idea isn’t really impossible. Seongwoo, their model student, was a timid workaholic at first glance. Albeit shy, he was someone they could always depend on. He wasn’t elected and called the student council president for nothing.

“Hong Woosung” was almost his polar opposite. All his encounters with the young stripper were playful and flirty. Meanwhile, his encounters with Seongwoo as of late were more consultative he couldn’t really compare. But one thing “Hong Woosung” had over Ong Seongwoo was confidence his presence was practically oozing it ever since he first laid his eyes on him.

In between his thoughts, Daniel faced the sleeping male on the bed. He once thought the man was already handsome even with glasses when Jisung had him show Daniel around. Now that he had them off, Daniel saw another breathtaking part of the man with his visuals completely bare for admiration.

For a moment, Daniel fidgets on his seat with the mask between his fingers. Maybe it was his way of reassuring himself that it wasn’t what he thought it was, but he raised the mask towards Seongwoo’s face.

And the resemblance wasn’t too far away.

“No,” Daniel lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, he wasn’t quite sure what to feel. It almost seemed legit, but even he was aware this seemed trivial. So what if they looked similar? Anyone could look like each other with a mask on, that doesn’t make them an exception.

The revelation was too sudden he couldn’t completely wrap his head around it. There’s gotta be more to this, he was sure. For all he knew, Seongwoo might’ve just been assisting the theatre majors again and accidentally brought one of their costumes with him. Or what if they had a twin they didn’t know about? Worst, what if he actually found Seongwoo’s doppelganger?! Now that would be so creepy― Daniel’s thoughts were cut off when he heard a groan.

He swiftly shoved the mask back into the senior’s bag.

 

**...**

 

Seongwoo groaned, his eyes fluttered open and was met with the sight of a familiar white ceiling. “Ngh…” The raven reached up and held his head to give his temple a slight massage. He didn’t feel as bad as he did at least.

“You’re awake,” Seongwoo turned to his side where he saw Daniel with his books scattered all over the nurse’s desk, “Feeling better?” He gently asked when he slid his chair beside the bed.

“Just a bit―” Seongwoo mumbled but his following words were cut off when Daniel was suddenly an inch away from his face with a palm pressed against his forehead. “Still a little warm, but I guess it’ll do,” The blonde said with a smile, somehow it made Seongwoo feel a little warmer. “How long have you been here?” Albeit still groggy, Seongwoo carefully sat up (not with a bit of help from Daniel) and leaned back on the headboard.

“It’s only been an hour,”

“An hour? Then it’s―”

“Six in the evening, yep,” Daniel supplied. “The nurse is already gone but the infirmary was still open so I was able to slip in to let you rest. No way was I going to let you sleep on a wooden desk and wake up with a sore back,” Daniel slid back to the desk before he returned with a glass of water and a pill of Advil.

“Here, something to help with your headache,” Seongwoo gratefully took the pill and gulped down the water, “Thanks,” The Raven said before he swung his legs to the side, “Woah there! What are you doing?” Daniel said with his hands raised signaling Seongwoo to stop in his movements.

“... Getting off the bed?”

“Nope, you are staying there until I finish fixing my stuff,” Daniel said as he pushed Seongwoo back down on the bed.

“... But you’re almost finished…” Seongwoo pointed up, Daniel scratched the back of his head.

“... Believe me, I’m not. Now stay there and rest!” He said for the last time before he slid back to the nurse’s desk. In the end, Seongwoo did end up falling asleep. Daniel sighed in relief when Seongwoo’s breathing evened out like earlier. After getting over his initial shock, the blonde finally shoved all his stuff into his bag and fixed Seongwoo’s too to make sure it looked the way it was before it fell.

Daniel woke him up half an hour later and Seongwoo was left confused how could someone take so long stuffing books in their bag. The young transferee shrugged it off claiming he was just a really messy kind of guy before handing him his glasses. By the time they left, it was almost 7 pm yet Daniel insists to walk him home.

“Daniel, I’m fine,” Seongwoo insists.

“That’s what you also said this morning yet here we are,” Daniel shrugged looking nonchalant.

“Don’t you still have other thi―Ow!” Seongwoo could tell Daniel barely managed to hold in a laugh but he managed to shove it down before he did.

“See? We’re barely past the gate and you’re already tripping on your own feet! I’m walking you home,”

His chances of ever catching up to work were immediately shot down. Thankfully, there were no events tonight. The managers and his fellow dancers wouldn’t be forgiving if there was one. Speaking of work, he hasn’t told him he couldn’t make it yet…

“Is your apartment just around here?” Daniel broke the silence as they were only two blocks away from his apartment.

“It’s that building over there,” Although Incheon was also in Seoul, his parents insist on having an apartment near his university to lessen the burden of travel time. At least he didn’t have to explain why he always came home late at night.

Seongwoo stopped walking, so does Daniel while the raven stared at him. “What?” Daniel asked Seongwoo pushed his glasses back up to avoid eye contact, “You can turn back now,” He merely said but the blonde man grinned, “I actually live around this area too, you know” He proudly said with his chin held high and hands resting on his hips.

“Oh… All the more you should turn towards your own apartment building then,” Seongwoo said and shrugged him off before he went back to walking. Daniel felt dumbfounded, mouth left agape until Seongwoo’s laugh snapped him out of his reverie

“H-Hey! I said I’ll walk you home and I mean it! You’re still sick!” Daniel does end up walking him home that night regardless of the numerous complaints and ditching attempts.

 

**...**

 

“This was definitely a bad, idea. Why did I even come up with this?” Daniel mumbled in a panicky manner to himself. Ever since he saw the black mask hidden inside the President’s bag last week, his curiosity never left his thoughts. Guess this was one idea he thought of to finally put an end to his wild imagination.

Daniel caught a glimpse of the moles hidden under Hong Woosung’s mask once. It was quick but the marks were definitely there. Seongwoo also had moles at the same spot but it’s not like they’re the only ones with moles located on their cheek. It’s not like mole placement was unique, he had a mole under his eye just like thousands of people who do.

But it was the mask that kept his mind anchored to the possibility.

The mask’s design could be considered generic given the typical lace wrapped around a white hard surface kind of concept. Though a mask could also have its own unique attributes. Laced masks could have a different arrangement depending on how it was covered but pure lace masks could only cover so much.

Now here he was, waiting inside the bookstore across the cafe Seongwoo claimed to work in at four in the afternoon. Almost everyone knew about this place anyway so it wasn’t hard to find. But he wasn’t here to visit, he was here for an investigation!

Surely, those kinds of coincidences can’t actually happen. Right?

That was what Daniel tried to shove down his brain, but the giant thing didn’t think it was enough. Instead, it chose to be a huge pain in the ass when it repeatedly played the previous night they spent in his head. Back when Daniel first met him, when they both spent the night dancing, and when they…

“Dammit, brain! Why is that the most vivid memory anyway?!” The blonde man lets out an exasperated sigh. “Alright, focus!” He said as he slapped both of his cheeks with his hands disregarding the weird looks people gave him.

Daniel didn’t have to wait long when he finally spotted a familiar figure from afar. The familiar physique and black hair with round glasses? Of course, that was him, he’s seen him in campus too many times to not remember his features anyway.

The blonde student continued to wander inside the bookstore tracing various spines on the books and randomly looking through several of them to keep himself busy. Though in between his exploration of the books, he would spare glances at the cafe from afar.

Minutes ago, he saw Seongwoo go straight to the back and now here he was assisting the other staff with serving the customers. Maybe he was wrong after all? No, it was too early to reach a concrete conclusion. If he was who he thought he is, then it must be a night job. Clubs usually open during the late hours, don’t they?

Out of determination, Daniel spent at least an hour wandering through the bookstore before he settled for doing his homework at the cafe itself. At least spending a few hours there doing school work would be more reasonable than wandering around the bookstore doing nothing.

After he settled on the farthest seat by the corner of the store, Daniel started doing his unfinished physics homework. Though it was more difficult considering how he couldn’t put his all into it since he did have an ulterior motive coming here.

It’s been an hour and a half since Seongwoo started his shift while Daniel was stuck at number 3 of his homework because who the fuck cares about the speed of a rock falling off a building?

Another half hour, Seongwoo is still working. Daniel is at number 5 now thank god. “It’s almost 7 pm by now, will he leave anytime soon?” Daniel wondered and glanced at the President. Seongwoo was talking with the other workers while no new customer came in.

… Is he wrong to assume such thing after all?

Just when he thought about stopping this nonsense, Seongwoo waved to his fellow coworkers and headed for the back. Looks like his shift was done, it’s time he also started to pack up (aka shove everything in his bag) so he did.

This was it, it’s the moment of truth. Truthfully, Daniel doesn’t know what to expect nor did he know what he wanted to see. If he did get something out of this, what was he going to do with this piece of information? Just the idea of it was enough to make him nervous but he thought he might as well cross that bridge when he gets there. For now, Seongwoo was about to leave and so should he.

As he suspected, Seongwoo’s shift ended when the raven came out in casual clothing. Daniel decided to give him a minute or so before he followed suit. The sun was long gone as the dim light of the moon’s rays and the cold evening breeze took over his surroundings.

Daniel spotted Seongwoo by his left and seemed like he was sending a text on his phone. There weren’t too many people on the street so the blonde student kept a safe distance enough to stay out of sight. Seongwoo pocketed his phone, Daniel followed after almost a minute of waiting. It was a familiar route, one he’s also seen when Jaehwan and the rest drove him to the club.

It was the alleyway across the street from the club where they took him on his first night.

Is it really? Daniel has lost count on how many times he’s asked himself the same question in one night. There was only one way to know. When Daniel got out of the alley, he came face to face with a familiar building. The bright neon lights and bouncer that guarded the front as well as the faint echo of the bass that blasted through the speakers. He was now at the club, just in time to see Seongwoo go through the back greeted by a man as tall as him dressed in tight leather pants.

Normally, Daniel would’ve shrugged it off, he had no business with why the performers chose to be as such but this was someone he came to know during the past weeks. His curiosity reached its peak and he could no longer shrug it off and pretend nothing happened.

Daniel went into the club not long after Seongwoo disappeared behind its doors. It was still quite early considering how the bar has yet to be in full swing, most of the audience was still waiting for the performers to come out on stage and see what they had in store for tonight. Daniel, on the other hand, was anticipating something else.

When the time came for the dancers to grace the stage, Daniel stood close to the front but enough to be blend in and stay invisible to the rest. He was first greeted by familiar faces, several of the dancers he saw dance alongside Hong when he first saw him. His gaze jumped from every face until he finally saw it, the familiar silhouette of a man covered with a black mask entirely wrapped in black lace.

The similarity of his physique to that of Seongwoo wasn’t too far off. The sharpness of his jaw, his nose, and his thin lips instantly remind him of Seongwoo that he couldn’t quite process what to do with this discovery.

 _No, just one last time I’ll test something else. Who knows, he might just really be a look-alike after all._ Daniel thought to himself, a mere excuse to divert his brain from jumping to conclusions without being a hundred percent sure.

 

As the ‘final step’ to his investigation, Daniel decided to compare their attendance. If Daniel was correct to assume Ong Seongwoo was indeed Hong Woosung, then there was one way to distinguish if they were indeed the same person.

If they were the same person, then chances of them being seen together would obviously be zero. So Daniel thought of a simple plan to check his attendance. Although troublesome and strange, he decided to attend the club every night                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sunday was a no show,

Monday followed suit,

Tuesday and Thursday weren’t any different,

Wednesday and Fridays was an entirely different story.

At first, Daniel has been hesitant about the entire idea. He doesn’t even know why he’s gone through such drastic lengths to find out the truth yet here he is after two weeks of nonstop investigation.

 

 

Daniel did his ‘investigation’ for two weeks, the results were practically the same. Seongwoo, or rather Woosung, only appeared twice a week. Daniel, being a transfer student in the middle of the year, even asked if he could tutor him once in a while after school. When they discussed their schedules on when they were available, Seongwoo’s Wednesdays and Fridays were never open yet he would sometimes ask for a leave on his cafe job if Daniel has any major tests the following day. In the end, there was no other proof to deny his discovery.

Ong Seongwoo was Hong Woosung, an obvious play on his name he should have noticed a long time ago.

Daniel thought of keeping it to himself. If no one else including Seongwoo knew he knew his secret, then it wouldn’t be of harm to anybody, right? But he couldn’t, not when he can picture the mask on his face whenever he passed through him in the corridors.

It felt wrong like he would unconsciously judge him for who he was because Seongwoo doesn’t know. He never knew Daniel found out and he couldn't help but feel bad. It didn’t feel right hiding the fact he knew his huge secret that he probably hasn’t told anyone. Not when it could tarnish his reputation all because society thinks he was doing something they didn’t consider as proper.

Daniel doesn’t know how long he’s harbored this secret, it could’ve been several weeks or maybe even a year. But he wanted to be of help in a way and make him comfortable with it if he could.

Maybe if he told Seongwoo about how he knew, then he could be his pillar of support. At the very least, he could have someone he can constantly lean on without having to think of what they could possibly think of him if they ever found out what he was and why he did it.

So that’s why Daniel decided, he was going to tell Seongwoo about it.

And hopefully, it will end better than expected.

 

**...**

 

Seongwoo got back to his night job two days after he got sick.

Although he was already fine the following day, Eunwoo insists He rests for another day to be sure. In the end, they kept nagging him about getting sick as far as two weeks after the incident no matter how much he insists it won’t happen again since he learned his lesson. So here he was back on a Friday night hidden behind his black and white laced mask. It’s been a casual night, surprisingly not as crowded as the usual Friday evenings would be.

Even if Seongwoo was physically present, they still wouldn’t let him perform for the night no matter how much he claimed he was fine. He still needed to up his game if he wasn’t going to perform. He decided to do his usual comma hair and wear his lace-up black platforms for tonight. He doesn’t wear them as often as the others do but when he does, it doesn’t fail to make heads turn.

So here he was entertaining whoever he could, at least that he was allowed to do. Maybe Daniel would also come to the club tonight, there’s a different feeling of comfort when he’s sure his client wouldn’t do anything he’s not comfortable with.

“Rocking your heels as always,” Eunwoo popped out of nowhere, Seongwoo could hit him for nearly giving him a heart attack really, “Still mad at you,” He huffed with crossed arms yet Eunwoo cooed at him as he wrapped an arm around the raven’s neck. “Don’t be like that. Who knows, maybe your loyal customer would also drop by today,”

“My… what?”

“The tall blondie. You know, broad shoulders and large physique,” _Daniel._ He thought to himself.

“What makes you so sure he’d come?” Seongwoo couldn’t help but grow curious, Eunwoo sounded so confident he would too. “Because he also did for the past two days, what’s going to make today different?” _He what?_

“After you called in sick at the very last minute, he came to look for you an hour later. Did the same thing yesterday and let me just say, he’s a really punctual guy.”

“... I take it he came at the same time then?”

“Yep.

“What time does he usually arrive?”

“10:30, just about now actually,” Seongwoo noticed Eunwoo’s distant gaze, he didn’t expect to see a familiar face on the receiving end of that look. Because there by the entrance was Kang Daniel who just happened to enter at the right time.

“On the dot,” Eunwoo mused as he looked at the clock, “I’ll leave him to you then, see you around!” He finished off with a small push that made Seongwoo stumble on his heels. Thankfully, someone caught him before he could land on his face. He didn’t think it’d be the same guy he just looked at from the entrance.

“D-Daniel!” Daniel arched a brow but nonetheless, he finished with a smile. “You’re pretty clumsy aren’t you?” He chuckled as he pulled the stripper back on his feet. “Some jerk pushed me, sorry about that,” He unintentionally emphasized on the ‘jerk’, Daniel found it adorable though.

“Shall we go somewhere private? It’s a little loud in here,” Daniel raised his voice in hopes Seongwoo would hear him over the loud music. Seongwoo chuckled before he nodded, “Lead the way, Nielie~” He singsonged as Daniel held his wrist and dragged him through the crowd in their usual private room.

“This is new, isn’t it? I usually kept you waiting for the first few minutes yet here you are picking me up,” Seongwoo mused as the clicking sound of his heels echoed while he walked over to the sofa. Meanwhile, Daniel closed the door behind him instantly muffling the loud music.

“I just think you probably have other stuff to attend to too. You must be busy with stuff in the morning too right?” Daniel said as he made his way to where Seongwoo was, but he doesn’t make any move to sit. He stayed where he was in front of where Seongwoo sat.

“You could say that,” Was his only reply, he’s always been vague about his personal life. If his persona was one that revolved around the mask, then he had to keep up a facade, right?

“Uni student?”

“Wow, do I look that young? Thanks~ But yeah, I’m still studying,” Seongwoo said with a smile as he crossed his legs. “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself too, Nielie?” The young stripper said as he leaned forward with his elbow rested on his knee. “You look like someone who’s around my age, or maybe you’re younger?” He said with a small tilt of the head.

“Younger. You’re 21, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you sounded quite confident about that. How’d you know?” The blonde boy laughed, “That was just a guess though, but thanks for confirming it,” He said amidst laughs that made his eyes disappear into tiny crescents.

_Cute._

“So you dance too, don’t you? You showed me some b-boy moves when you first booked me here,” Seongwoo said, “How long have you been dancing? You must be really experienced to pull off those moves,” If anything he looked more like he was batting his eyelashes yet Daniel indulges him with the conversation anyway.

“Been a while, started b-boying when I was in junior high and I’ve been addicted ever since. I think I spent more time practicing than looking through my notes and textbooks,” He shyly admits, “We actually have this competition coming up! It’s the first one for this year and I’m just a new member of our university’s dance team so I’m feeling kinda nervous about it―”

“You’ll do great,” Seongwoo unexpectedly cuts him off, even the stripper looked shocked at what he did, “I-I mean, if you have that much experience to back you up then I doubt you’d make a major mistake. You could admit to making one and the audience wouldn’t even notice what you meant,” He quickly followed to attempt to cover the abruptness of his statement.

It seemed to be worth it when Daniel ended up laughing though, yet he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as he could feel his cheeks heat up. “I guess you’re right.” Daniel once again smiled that blinding bright smile that has Seongwoo melt into this huge pile of mush. “We’re just waiting for the student council to approve of our budget proposal for this competition, I hope the President takes it all into consideration,”

Daniel’s eyes go back to Seongwoo’s own, his gaze lingered to a particular spot by his cheek before he went back to his eyes. “Speaking of budget proposal…” The blonde slowly squatted down until he was on eye level with Seongwoo’s own.

“What do you think about the request?” He said, tone slow and careful as he focused on the chocolate brown orbs that shone under the club lights.

“Seongwoo hyung?”

Seongwoo felt like the world stopped.

His heart, his breathing, even the once deafening boom of the bass against his ears. He couldn’t help but retreat, arms fell to his sides as he sat up and looked defensive. Everything froze over the moment Daniel said his name.

His real name.

Not that alias he made for himself but the one that has been given to him on the 25th of August. He felt his heart drop, his stomach twist, and his throat constrict at the revelation of his biggest secret.

That’s it. He was done for. He would have to let it go before the news could spread like wildfire but in uni… what was going to happen to him then? What could they possibly think when the student council President himself worked as a stripper? It would end him for sure. He’d lose everything. His responsibilities, teacher’s trust, the respect of the juniors, his entire image as the ‘perfect model student’.

When Daniel sensed the rising panic from Seongwoo’s body language, he knew he was right. From his initial suspicion to each assumption he carefully investigated everything that led him to this moment. “I didn’t tell anyone,” He simply said. He wasn’t like the others, he wouldn’t want to use this against him. Not when he could have a reason why he wanted to take up the job in the first place. Four simple words, so simple yet reassuring. Even when Daniel reached out and held his cheek in his hand, Seongwoo doesn’t pull back but he does hesitate to meet Daniel’s eyes.

When Daniel brought his other hand to Seongwoo’s other cheek, only then does he dare to look back at Daniel’s own dark brown ones. Although the glint in Seongwoo’s eyes reflected fear, his body showed trust. Even when Daniel stepped closer until they were only separated by an inch, he remained rooted on the spot.

For a moment, nobody moves. They just stared in each other’s eyes as if words were no longer needed in times like these. Daniel tentatively slipped a finger under the mask and made Seongwoo hold his breath. When Daniel doesn’t make a move, Seongwoo clutched a hand on his hoodie and closed his eyes. A silent sign of encouragement.

So Daniel does it again. He slipped another finger on the opposite side and slowly slid it upwards careful to not scratch the raven’s face. The mask was slipped off, Seongwoo’s hair fell over his eyes as he was left completely bare and revealed to no one but Daniel.

He felt small and vulnerable under the silent gaze Daniel had on him and he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. He was too afraid. What if Daniel laughed at him? Exposed him? Degraded him? That… was not something he was ready to handle. He never thought of what to do when something like this happens.

When a hand gently cupped his face, the thumb swiped over his cheek and wiped away the tears that he didn’t realize streamed down his face. Only then did he dare to open his eyes and was met with the comforting gaze and familiar smile that graced Daniel’s features.

“You’re still the most beautiful behind the facade you built for yourself,”

Was all he said and as Seongwoo ducked his head and broke down.

This isn’t a possibility he thought would unfold. The best outcome he thought of was Daniel laughing it off the moment he slipped off the mask but why was he looking at him with that smile? Why did he look at him with those comforting eyes and gentle touches? Why… Just why?

“Why…” Seongwoo croaked, “Why are you smiling?” Daniel didn’t say anything yet he continued to wipe the tears off his cheeks.

“Aren’t you going to laugh at me?” Daniel's hands stopped.

“Degrade me maybe? Should I be expecting a life of hell next week onwards?” Seongwoo couldn’t stop, Daniel has yet to say a word and it’s made Seongwoo feel so frustrated. Does he enjoy seeing him break down like this then? That’s just―

“Should I be?”

Seongwoo snapped his head back up, eyes finally met with Daniel’s own yet he looked… upset. “Is that what you thought I’d do? Make fun of you and tell the others about it?” The raven stripper was perplexed. Why did he seem so angry? “I… I don’t understand…”He murmured loud enough for the blonde student to hear. Daniel let out an exasperated sigh.

“I would never do that to you. Not to you or to anyone else, did I come off as that type of guy?” Daniel sounded a little disappointed it made Seongwoo shrink in on himself, “... Wouldn’t others do that…?” He hesitantly said and Daniel looked shocked. “I’m not like the others then,”

“I would never do that to you,” Daniel repeated and rested his hand on Seongwoo’s cheek as a reassuring gesture. “Judging you because of this would be wrong, to tell others about it when you might’ve had your own reason would be worst. For all I know, you might’ve been desperate you had to do it and who am I to judge you because of that?” Seongwoo was still shocked, he didn’t know what to do next.

Eventually, Seongwoo calmed down as the silence of the room was filled with his sniffles. Daniel lets him calm down absentmindedly patting and drawing circles in his back while he tried not to look at Seongwoo. He still might’ve felt uncomfortable about someone knowing his secret.

“How did you figure it out?” The raven mumbled as he kept his gaze on the mask he fidgeted within his hands. For a moment, Daniel stiffened and scratched his cheek probably gathering his thoughts.

“... Your moles,” Daniel slowly said and Seongwoo unconsciously reached for the said birthmarks on his face. “I first saw them when Jisung introduced me in school, it was really pretty I found it impossible to miss,” Daniel said and Seongwoo couldn’t help but still feel embarrassed about it.

“I saw them again on Wednesday when you were Hong Woosung, I guess that’s why you suddenly kissed me, huh?” Daniel chuckled but Seongwoo felt like he wanted to die, it was the most embarrassing thing to remember, why did was that his first instinct anyway?! “I still got a glimpse of it, the small yet familiar triangle formation just below your eye.”

“I doubted it at first, maybe it wasn’t as common as I thought it was,” Seongwoo slowly looked up at the blonde boy that now sat on his right. Daniel must’ve seen he still felt uneasy about the whole thing so he smiled down at him, that smile that people often told him made them feel relieved.

“But then there was the time when you collapsed,” He continued, “You kept mentioning Advil so I thought you must’ve brought some with you. So when I brought you to the nurse’s office, I laid you down on the bed and um… I went through your stuff,”

“So you saw…”

“The mask, yeah.” He slowly admits, “It definitely surprised me when everything just clicked in my head, the student council President was a stripper… One that I’ve even spent nights with too,” He embarrassingly admits although he tried to laugh it off to divert the attention from his flushed cheeks.

“You… never told anyone?”

“Not a soul,” Seongwoo still couldn’t understand it.

“Why didn’t you?” He couldn’t help but grow curious, he really thought he was completely done for so why?

“And get you kicked out of your position? Ruin your reputation and potentially your life?” Daniel continued, “No thanks, I would never do that to anyone.” Seongwoo couldn’t believe it, “Especially, if it’s you,” He couldn’t believe that either.

“What… do you mean?” Seongwoo was obviously taken aback he wasn’t expecting anything like that. Daniel didn’t seem to be expecting it either judging by the hand covering his mouth and the blush that seemed to spread down to his neck.

“I-I mean… Well uh― You’re the President! The effects on you would be huge and I… I wouldn’t want that to happen. You’re an amazing person and this aspect about you doesn’t change that,” Daniel rambled on until he heard the faint laugh bubbling at the back of Seongwoo’s throat.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you or anything.” Daniel’s blush couldn’t tone down with all the embarrassment he’s laid out today. Seongwoo finds it adorable though.

While Daniel fanned himself to try and cool down, Seongwoo was busy tracing the details of the black mask in his hand. He was lucky, really lucky it was Daniel who found out. Daniel who just so happens to be the type of person that could accept him for who he is instead of what society often expects him to be.

“T-Thanks,” The raven shyly mumbled.

“It’s nothing,” Daniel smiled. But his curiosity hasn't quite died down. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't so subtle judging by the arched eyebrow Seongwoo shot at him. "Something going through your mind?"  The older student asked and for a moment, Daniel tensed. He wasn't so sure if it would be considered insensitive to ask but Seongwoo already caught him looking strange anyway, he might as well risk it. "So how did you uhh... how did...  you and the... the bar... cafe... I mean―"

"How did I end up here when I had a part-time job at the cafe?" Seongwoo supplied and Daniel couldn't help but feel embarrassed but nonetheless, he nodded in confirmation. Seongwoo just found it cute. "It's... partially because of circumstances that led me here but I don't really regret it," He started off vague. When Daniel remained silent, Seongwoo took it as a sign to continue, "I used to work as one of the waiters, sometimes if the bartenders were short in staff then I'd also cover for the position. Anything to get a few more than what I usually earned, but then one day something unexpected happened," Seongwoo chuckled just by remembering it, "It was a major event, everything was already prepared and nothing was pretty flexible about it. Whatever was planned was already sent to the clients so we can't just make last-minute alterations,"

"During the rehearsals, one of the performers got injured hours before the client hosting the party came. You can imagine how everyone was thrown into a panic knowing they needed to think of a solution quick. The next bits were a bit of a blur. They saw me, someone spilled my background in dance, and the next thing I knew I was being dolled up to look the part," Daniel let him talk and observed his expressions, Seongwoo looked more amused when he was actually talking about his life story. "In the end, I did end up dancing that night. A lot more amateur than how I obviously do things now, but it was unexpected when the crowd ended up loving it, loving me even if they didn't know who I was," 

"After that, I felt a little more... confident about myself. It was a really big deal and I ended up earning more than I usually did. Almost twice, in fact. Out of sheer happiness and joy, I asked to work as a stripper instead and they agreed. Since then, my schedules changed and I've been dancing ever since," 

"Why did you need to earn so much? Do you pay for your own university fees?" The blonde student asked as Seongwoo hummed when he leaned back on the couch. "I'm on a full scholarship, in case you forgot, but yes I pay for my own fees," 

"Does anyone else help?" Daniel blurted out and for a moment, Seongwoo looked stunned. "I-I mean―! You don't have to answer that, it just came out so suddenly I'm sorry―"

"I'm the only one that can help," Seongwoo cuts him off mid-ramble with a smile as if everything was alright, At this point, Daniel felt like he was wandering into dangerous territory. "It's fine, really. If anything, it feels kinda nice to talk about this for the first time," Seongwoo chuckled and smiled when he saw the tension in Daniel's body casually leave him all because of a few words. "It's... It's been tough for us." Seongwoo hesitantly starts but there was no turning back now, it's not like he had anything else to hide from the blonde-haired man. "Unlike what the rumors say, my family... isn't everything. It's not perfect but it isn't broken either. We're what I would consider average, but like I said, circumstances let me to this job," Seongwoo paused and took a deep breath, hands visibly clenching on his knee.

"My mother is sick, and I have a younger brother who knows nothing about what's happening, I chose to keep him out of it telling him everything was fine and that mom was just tired. He never knew, at least I think he doesn't," 

"Why do you leave him out of it?" Daniel couldn't help but ask.

"...I didn't want to burden him at such a young age," Seongwoo hesitantly replied, "I was young when we lost our dad, Jinyoung was just a baby. Even when our mom was diagnosed, Jinyoung was in school. He was doing so well he got a scholarship on his own. I... I didn't want to burden him with this, I didn't want him to go through what I did. I wanted him to enjoy his life as it is, maybe he'll eventually find out but... not today. Maybe when I finally graduate and get a better job then I can tell him everything." Even when he was telling Daniel of his struggles, he could still bring himself to smile as if nothing was wrong. As if he knew everything was going to be okay.

That was when Daniel came to realize how much people placed him on a pedestal when he was just as human as everyone else. Under the facade of the 'perfect model student', Seongwoo had his own struggles and secrets that made him seem all the more real. He wasn't the perfect human being people claimed he was, he was just Ong Seongwoo. A regular student who made use of his intelligence and skills to get through everyday life. Not just for himself, but for his entire family and that, for Daniel, was very admirable.

"You've been doing well," Daniel starts, for a moment Seongwoo looked surprised. "I know Jinyoung will appreciate everything you've done, who could possibly be a better older brother than you?" Daniel said with a reassuring smile as he gently held the mask in Seongwoo's hands. "This doesn't change who you are, you're still his beloved brother and your mom's eldest son. Even if I did discover this new side to you, it won't change anything. You're still you and I'm still me, I'm not letting this change anything between us" The junior grinned in hopes of influencing his senior and it does when he saw the corner of his lips twitch upwards.

"Thank you, really" Seongwoo whispered as he ducked his head in hopes of stopping the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. To say he was relieved right now seemed like an understatement. He was blessed, more than blessed to escape from any sort of predicament that could throw off his entire life along with his future. He knew the moment he took the job that it would be a huge risk but it wasn’t easy to let go. Not when it’s one thing that helped him gain the small bit of confidence he had. Now someone knew, and that someone was the kindest man he's met. It felt good to finally confide with someone about his situation. After keeping it in for so long, he could finally say a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. For once, he didn't feel like he had the whole world on his back to slow him down. Instead, he finally had someone he could share the weight with and he has never felt more relieved.

Daniel must have noticed the anxious state his body was in because here he was now seated closer barely leaving any space in between. 

“It’s been one hell of a week, want to go grab some coffee?” Once again with the usual blinding smile, Daniel managed to ease his nerves.

“Coffee at this hour? It’s almost midnight,”

“That doesn’t stop the 24 hours cafe down the street,” The blonde countered as he stood up with a jump. “So, how about it? Late night coffee and chill?” He repeated with an outstretched hand, one that Seongwoo gladly accepted with a shy nod.

“Sure, why not?” He said with a grin and Daniel returns with a grin of his own and a teasing curve on his lips.

“Just don’t start dancing on the table tops unless your show gets us free drinks,” Daniel jokingly reminds him, Seongwoo couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ll try not to~”

**Author's Note:**

> Well congrats for making it all the way to the end!  
> If you have any thoughts or comments then do let me know c:


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